Denis von Weber
Denis von Weber was a Watchmaster of the Death Korps of Krieg who fought in the Siege of Vraks. History Siege of Vraks First battle Like all Guardsmen from Krieg, Denis von Weber was trained in the hellish environment of his homeworld to fight on the most dangerous battlefields known to Man. The training was both mental and physical, and included survival, endurance, usage of various weapons, digging trenches, among other things. The experience broke him done mentally (as well as physically), molding him into a devoted servant of the Emperor, albeit retaining some of his original character. Weber performed well enough to be given the rank of corporal and was assigned to the 19th Krieg Siege Regiment, under Colonel Adal, of the 88th Siege Army, fighting in the siege of Vraks against the Vraksian Traitor Militia. There, he took part in defending the northern defensive line from the enemy's first offensive of the conflict. His unit took heavy losses during the first days of the fighting, being in the forward trenches during the enemy charge. Weber managed to survive his first battle, and withdrew along with the other survivors of his unit. Over the next several days, he fought around the regimental command center against the enemy, which had by then overrun much of the 19th regiment's positions. Weber took part in the brutal close-quarters fighting in the trenches, and was wounded. Whether by luck or skill, Weber managed to be among the 80 survivors that fought with Colonel Adal at the command center. Communications had been cut off, and they were completely surrounded. The colonel divided the remaining troops into two groups, one that would stay and act as the rearguard and another that would break-out. Weber, naturally for a Krieg Guardsman, volunteered to stay with rearguard, which was under the colonel's personal command. However, he believed that those who were wounded would not last long as rearguards and instead had him join the other group. He and the rest of them slipped away by night, managing to fight their way through a thin point along the enemy line. Joining up with other isolated pockets of survivors, Weber and another 300 Krieg Guardsmen of the now non-existent 19th Regiment fought their way towards the lines of the nearby 1st Line Korps. The breach in the line had to be plugged, so along with the men of the 7th Tank Regiment, the survivors of the 19th were sent back into battle. Weber spent another three grueling days fighting before the enemy advance was finally halted. After the offensive's end, the survivors were reassigned to other units, and were awarded the status of Grenadier. Although Weber knew it was more of a death sentence than an award, he proudly accepted the honor (not that he had a choice). The new unit he was reassigned to became the 468th Siege Regiment. The break through Weber saw little action over the next several years other than the daily skirmishes that occurred at the front lines between small units. During that time, he developed his marksmanship skills, becoming known in his platoon as an deadly accurate shot. Finally, when a large-scale general offensive was ordered to break through to the inner defensive line of the Citadel, the 468th found itself back in intense combat. On the fourth day, the unit launched an attack in sector 57-50. Their commander, Colonel Attas, secured the permission from Army Command Headquarters to execute a daring night assault after a series of failed normal charges. Corporal Weber was part of the first assault wave, crawling through the no man's land in the darkness, with his commander leading personally at the front of the formation. Meanwhile, a Krieg artillery bombardment sounded over head, clearing the way for their advance. Upon reaching the trenches, Weber and the other soldiers fought their way through the enemy trenches in brutal close-quarters combat. It was only after several hours of fighting that he learned that Colonel Attas had been killed in battle, but by then, having received reinforcements from the second wave, they had successfully breached the outer defense line. More and more units were rushed by Command Headquarters to exploit the gap, and Weber witnessed as the enemy line collapsed like a house of cards. As the vanguard, the 468th liquidated a number of suicidal rearguards that the Vraksian Traitor Forces had left behind. Their advance was halted by orders from high command, however, as they needed time for more units to catch up and to give time to reorganize their own forces, as the 88th had taken considerable losses and was not capable of a full offensive. However, the traitors ended up summoning the aid of the Chaos Space Marines through bloody sacrifices, causing a new enemy to appear before the men of Krieg. The men of the 468th came under attack from the Khornate Berserkars, engaging them in brutal melee combat. Weber took part in the fighting and reluctantly accepted the orders from high command to withdraw to their original positions. Military Record *Corporal of the 19th Krieg Siege Regiment, Siege of Vraks, 813-816.M41. *Grenadier of the 468th Krieg Siege Regiment, Siege of Vraks, 816-822.M41. Personality and appearance Equipment Initially, von Weber used a standard set of equipment and weapons of a Krieg Guardsman, though it changed as he advanced in the ranks. *'Lucius Pattern Lasgun' - The standard issue Lasgun in service with the regiments of Krieg is the Lucius Pattern Lasgun. Sometimes known as a Hellgun, this "hot-shot" weapon's power pack operates at a higher charge than many other more common patterns of the Lasgun used by other Imperial Guard regiments. This gives the weapon more penetrating power, but drains the power pack after only 25 shots. The weapon is single shot only and has a slower recharge rate than many other Lasguns, however it has been judged by Krieg commanders that the additional stopping power of the Lucius Pattern more than makes up for this. The barrel of the weapon is fitted with distinctive heat sink rings to help dissipate the enormous additional heat this high-powered Lasweapon generates after sustained fire. The weapon's furniture (the stock and foregrip) are typically made of synthetic wood, although metal variants are known. *'6 Lasgun Charge Packs' - Charge packs are powerful batteries used almost exclusively by Imperial laser weapons. The charge pack varies depending on the class of the weapon. In all cases, it provides shots equal to the weapon's full clip value. *'Flak Armour' - The most common type of armour used by Imperial Guard forces is Flak Armour, and it is standard-issue combat gear to the countless millions of Imperial Guardsmen who fight on the Emperor's behalf across the galaxy. Many layers of ablative and impact absorbent material go into making each suit, enough to deflect or negate most low-level attacks such as small arms, shrapnel, and proximity blasts. Solid hits from high impact weapons can generally negate it, but given that it is relatively lightweight, cheap to produce, and dependable in most combat situations, many veterans keep using it even when offered something better. *'Mono Knife' - The Mono Knife, a one-handed melee implement, is the ubiquitous back-up weapon for warriors all across the Imperium, be they lowly hive scum or the elite soldiers of a Planetary Governor. Some, such as the Catachan Fighting Knife, are designed for a specific purpose, whilst others are more generic in nature. The Mono Knives utilised by the Death Korps of Krieg are specially fashioned blades with superfine edges that can easily cut through armour and never lose their edge. These knives are carried by all members of the Death Korps as both a bayonet and a field tool. *'Death Korps of Krieg Imperial Guard Uniform' *'Respirator' - A simple breathing mask that covers the nose and mouth or entire face, these offer much better protection than filtration plugs and are used by the troops of the Death Korps in toxic environments or during attacks by chemical or even biological weapons. *'4 Empty Sandbags' *'M39 Entrenching Tool' *'4 Frag Grenades' - Frag Grenades use a combustible charge and special fillers of shrapnel fragments which make them potent anti-personnel weapons. Imperial Frag Grenades are roughly the size of a clenched fist and covered with a heavily notched shell, both to increase the shrapnel produced and provide a more secure grip for throwing. *'2 Photon Flash Grenades' - Photon Flash Grenades detonate like a small star, blinding anyone nearby and bright enough to overload primitive vision protection systems. Anyone within 15 metres of a photon flash grenade when it detonates will be temporarily blinded. *'2 Smoke Grenades' - Smoke grenades release a dense smoke which only obscures basic eyesight and optical based systems. They do not block detection systems that use heat or other spectral bands outside of normal human eyesight, but are much more widely available and easier to construct. * Poor Weather Gear * Rucksack * Basic Toolkit * Mess Kit & Water Canteen * 2 week's Rations * Blanket & Sleeping Bag * Grooming Kit * Dog Tags * Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer - A standard-issue Imperial text that covers a vast variety of topics, this book is possessed by all members of the Imperial Guard as part of their standard-issue equipment. The Primer is a basic guide that details everything a Guardsman needs to know: principles and regulations of the Imperial Guard, issued arms, attire, apparatus, and equipment, basic battlefield policy and Imperial Guard organisation and structure, elementary battlefield medical instructions, and a detailed guide on the foes of the Imperium. No Guardsman should ever be found without possession of a copy of the Uplifting Primer for the punishment is severe. 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